Californium – Periodic Table [Element Information & More]

Californium element (Cf) is in period 7 of a periodic table. Californium is in the f-block and it is classified as an actinide on the periodic table.

There is a lot more information related to californium which is mentioned in the Information Table given below.

So let’s dive right into it!

Table of contents

• Californium element (Information Table)
• Californium element in Periodic table
• Facts about Californium
• Properties of Californium
• Uses of Californium

Californium Element (Information Table)

The important data related to californium element is given in the table below.

Appearance of californium	Silvery appearance
Atomic number of californium	98
Symbol of californium	Cf
Atomic mass of californium (most stable isotope)	251 u
Protons, Neutrons & Electrons in californium	Protons: 98, Neutrons: 153, Electrons: 98
State of californium (at STP)	Solid
Period number of californium in periodic table	7
Block of californium in periodic table	f-block
Category of californium	Inner transition metals
Bohr model or Electrons per shell or Electrons arrangement in californium	2, 8, 18, 32, 28, 8, 2
Electron configuration of californium	[Rn] 5f10 7s2
Orbital diagram of californium
Atomic radius of californium (van der Waals radius)	245 picometers
Density of californium	15.1 g/cm3
1st ionization energy of californium	6.30 eV
Melting point of californium	1173 K or 900 °C or 1652 °F
Boiling point of californium (estimated)	1743 K or 1470 °C or 2678 °F
Crystal structure of californium	Double Hexagonal Close Packing (DHCP)
Discovery of californium	By Glenn T. Seaborg, Stanley Thompson, Albert Ghiorso and Kenneth Street (in 1950)

Also see: Interactive Periodic Table (It has rotating bohr models as well as many other details of all the 118 elements in a single periodic table).

Californium element in Periodic table

The Californium element (Cf) has the atomic number 98 and is located in period 7. Californium is a metal and it is classified as an actinide group element.

Click on above elements in the periodic table to see their information.

Facts about californium

Here are a few interesting facts about the californium element.

1. Glenn T. Seaborg, Stanley Thompson, Albert Ghiorso and Kenneth Street discovered the californium element in the year 1950.
2. Californium was given its name from “California”.
3. Californium is highly radioactive and it is artificially prepared in nuclear reactors.
4. Californium has around 20 radioactive isotopes.
5. ²⁵¹Cf is the longest lived isotope and it has half life of 898 years.

Properties of californium

Here is a list of some physical properties and chemical properties of californium.

Physical properties of californium

• Californium metal has a silvery white appearance.
• Californium is a soft and malleable metal.
• At room temperature, californium has DHCP crystal structure and it changes to FCC at higher temperatures.
• The Californium element has an estimated melting point and boiling point of 1173 K and 1743 K respectively.

Chemical properties of californium

• Californium reacts with the oxygen of the air and it starts tarnishing.
• Californium also shows chemical reactions with nitrogen, hydrogen as well as with other aqueous mineral acids.

Uses of californium

Here are some uses of the californium element.

• Californium can be used in neutron emitters.
• ²⁵²Ca is used to detect the amount of oils present in the oil wells.
• Cervical cancer as well as brain cancer can also be cured using the isotope ²⁵²Ca.

External resources:

1. P. (n.d.). Californium | Cf (Element) – PubChem. Californium | Cf (Element) – PubChem. https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/element/Californium
2. It’s Elemental – The Element Californium. (n.d.). It’s Elemental – the Element Californium. https://education.jlab.org/itselemental/ele098.html
3. Possolo, et al. (2018, January 4). Interpreting and propagating the uncertainty of the standard atomic weights (IUPAC Technical Report). Pure and Applied Chemistry, 90(2), 395–424. https://doi.org/10.1515/pac-2016-0402
4. Emsley, J. (2011). Nature’s Building Blocks: An A-Z Guide to the Elements. United Kingdom: OUP Oxford.
5. Haynes, W. M. (Ed.). (2014, June 4). CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. https://doi.org/10.1201/b17118
6. Electronic structure of the elements. (2000, March). The European Physical Journal C, 15(1–4), 78–79. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf02683401
7. James A. M. & Lord M. P. (1992). Macmillan’s chemical and physical data. Macmillan.
8. Bedford, et al. (1996, April 1). Recommended values of temperature on the International Temperature Scale of 1990 for a selected set of secondary reference points. Metrologia, 33(2), 133–154. https://doi.org/10.1088/0026-1394/33/2/3
9. Allred, A. (1961, June). Electronegativity values from thermochemical data. Journal of Inorganic and Nuclear Chemistry, 17(3–4), 215–221. https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-1902(61)80142-5
10. Californium – Wikipedia. (2011, July 11). Californium – Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Californium
11. Californium – Element information, properties and uses | Periodic Table. (n.d.). Californium – Element Information, Properties and Uses | Periodic Table. https://www.rsc.org/periodic-table/element/98/californium
12. Californium | CCDC. (n.d.). Californium | CCDC. https://www.ccdc.cam.ac.uk/elements/californium/
13. Thompson, S. G., Street, K., Ghiorso, A., & Seaborg, G. T. (1950, December 1). The New Element Californium (Atomic Number 98). Physical Review, 80(5), 790–796. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrev.80.790